The Passage

A hokey but mildly entertaining drama.

The Passage is a solid example of adequate network television. ... The problem with The Passage is one that plagues practically every network TV drama: a need to keep exposition and plot development flowing at all costs, particularly at the cost of nuance. ... That said, in the second and third episodes, The Passage does a better job of slowing down and exploring the dynamics between its characters.

It's a slow road to apocalypse in the absorbing, if derivative, opening chapters of this Stephen King wannabe based on the epic horror trilogy by Justin Cronin. [21 Jan - 3 Feb 2019, p.13]

Much of The Passage feels like [...] a placeholder waiting for the sharper, crisper second draft. Sidney and Gosselaar’s bond is charming--and proof that Gosselaar, despite bad luck with recent projects, has become a reliable player on television. But it’s reliant, too, on a dynamic that feels lazily overmotivated.

There is no piece of information delivered fluidly or artfully in The Passage. Maybe if this had been a cable or streaming show with 55 minutes per episode, there might have been time for breathing. Instead, the first three episodes are an aggressive information dump punctuated by sweet bonding with Wolgast and Amy and creepiness with veiny creatures who aren't called vampires even if everybody keeps asking why they aren't called vampires.

The Passage teases a disaster on an even grander scale yet backtracks several times over in its first three episodes and still manages to rush its most crucial relationship.

There’s morality struggles and supposed bigger questions about humanity, but it’s all lost in a mess of genre splashes. Add in paper-thin characters and an abysmal sense of pacing, and you have a new show that misfires on just about every front.

The Passage is frustratingly mechanical yet, being human, you can’t help but feel at least slightly invested in this threatened world. It induces eye rolls but still, the virus is easily caught.